Hi there,
I am new to this and am desperately seeking any answers or advice on behalf of my mother. Please bare with me if I waffle or if I dont make complete sense…
My mum is a MS sufferer and has been for the last 16 years. She has a suprapubic catheter fitted which was to eliminate the problems associated with toilet use and make that part of her daily living hassle free. However, it is becoming a daily battle and is making my mum very upset and at times embarassed as it does not work properly anymore. She has had it fitted for quite some time and it has been amazing but now it is constantly becoming blocked and causing the urine to bypass the catheter completely and causing her to become wet where it leaks out the traditionally way… The catheter is being changed at least 3 times a week now as it is impossible to unblock it and it is very painful for her to have it changed. She is having to wear pads in her underwear incase it leaks (which it almost certainly will) and as she is wheelchair bound and cannot dress, undress or wash herself, it is very difficult and painful for my mum when a change of clothes is in order, clearly this is becoming very upsetting for her.
The nurses have been amazing and are very gentle and sympathetic towards her but no-body seems able to give us an answer as to why the catheters keep becoming blocked. She has tried every catheter available (as far as we know) and is now on a silver coated one that was supposed to be better but again within a couple of days it is blocked again. She is having a bladder wash done at least twice a day and has started drinking filtered water incase it was something in the water causing the bladder to fur up or crystalise but nothing is working.
Is there anybody out there that has been through or knows someone who has had a similiar experience? does anybody have any advice or answers that may help? she is getting very dispondent now and as she is normally a very happy, upbeat lady it saddens me to see her suffering anymore than is necessary. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, I hope it makes some sense!
Lisa
Hi there…I too have a supra pubic. I was getting the old blockage/UTI and was referred to an incontinence nurse who gave me loads of tips such as-
Twist the catheter every night to prevent encrustation
Drink lemon based products, effects the PH and helps avoid encrustation
Drink plenty…I drink a few litres a day.
Have the catheter changed more often
The key really is to drink plenty. It is often tempting to request antibiotics when you do have an infection but this does not always do you long term favours…however you would need to speak to the GP/incontinence nurse about this.
In summary, the above has helped hugely and had not UTI’s/blockage during the last change.
There will be ways to improve so hope you get some answers…I am surprised the district nurses have not been more forward in offering solutions,
Good luck
Hi there…I too have a supra pubic. I was getting the old blockage/UTI and was referred to an incontinence nurse who gave me loads of tips such as-
Twist the catheter every night to prevent encrustation
Drink lemon based products, effects the PH and helps avoid encrustation
Drink plenty…I drink a few litres a day.
Have the catheter changed more often
The key really is to drink plenty. It is often tempting to request antibiotics when you do have an infection but this does not always do you long term favours…however you would need to speak to the GP/incontinence nurse about this.
In summary, the above has helped hugely and had not UTI’s/blockage during the last change.
There will be ways to improve so hope you get some answers…I am surprised the district nurses have not been more forward in offering solutions,
Good luck
HI there,
Thank you very much for your reply.
She drinks quite a bit of water but maybe she needs to start drinking a lot more, I will pop over today with a bottle of lemon squash for her and tell her to up her intake.
Thanks for the tips, I don’t think we have tried any of these so fingers crossed something works.
Thank you very much again for your help and I am very pleased things have improved for you :o)
Kind Regards
Lisa
l have had a supra-pubic catheter for about 18yrs - lt’s the best thing l ever did. There has been occasions when the bag has become disconnected. But l have never had the problem that your mums experiencing. You do need to drink plenty of water/cranberry juice/lemon barley - even tonic water is good.
Squeezing the catheter tube tight for a few seconds - will help to get the sediment moving - so does just turning the catheter round and round - so that it is not blocking against the bladder wall - as this will stop the flow. Also, when the catheter is changed [l have mine changed every 5weeks] makesure the nurse does not push it in too far - as it can end up blocking the uretha. The bladder gets smaller over time -with a spc - as it is continuosly emptying. A bit like a deflated balloon. So it is possible that the catheter tip is sticking to the bladder wall. A flipflow valve will allow the bladder to fill more before you empty it. l can not use one - as l have no control at all.
Hope the district nurses can sort this problem out for your mum.
Frances.